The world of photography has been an active and exciting place this week with artists and writers posting fresh content in all genres of photography. This weeks list of the best links features tutorials, special features and great photography, all hand selected by Toad Hollow Photography for you. We really hope you enjoy checking out these links as much as the Toad did himself in bringing this list to you.
TUTORIALS
Bite Size Tips: 3 Ways To Get More Beautiful, Softer Light In Your Photographs – managing light is a key concept in terms of great photography and this brief list of tips posted right here on Light Stalking covers 3 ways of getting flattering light. This article will only take a moment to read, but for those starting out with trying to find great light, this will help get you fast-tracked and give you ideas on where to dig further.
How to Shoot Video With a Gimbal – this is a 10 part video tutorial that covers pretty much all aspects of getting up and running with one of our modern video gimbal rigs. The results from properly applying a gimbal to videography are amazing, oftentimes producing cinema quality footage with a lightweight and simple platform. This set of tutorials will cover all the basics of these tools and will have you up and running in short order.
Architectural Photography Tips That Will Make You Stunning Photos – architectural photography is definitely a thing all it’s own, with challenges and subtle issues that can make or break a great shot. This article covers many of the key factors of shooting buildings and structures, talking about both wide shots and how to capture some of the details that give a building it’s character.
10 Top Tips to Get Started with Still Life Photography – for those looking to take excellent still life photographs, this is a great article to read to give you a starting point to work from. Each of the tips presented here will help you create the type of image you’ve envisioned, and you’ll enjoy the process as you work through it.
An Introduction to Macro Photography in less than 10′ – this brief article covers the basics of macro photography, helping you find a way to introduce this type of photography into your own workflow. The sample shots included are terrific, highlighting in a visual way the core idea being expressed in the article.
Free Contracts and Legal Forms for Landscape Photographers – legal documents are not something that many of us photographers spend a lot of time contemplating, but the requirement for them sometimes is definitely there. Check out this selection of free legal forms and documents you can download to help save you time and future headaches.
How to Record 360 Video With a Multi-Camera Rig – 360* video and photography is a relatively new technology, and as with all emerging technologies there are many different ways to create each with it’s own pros and cons. This great tutorial covers how to utilize a multi-camera rig for this type of imagery, all the way from setup in the field to post-production. The resulting quality of the video is amazing and well worth the effort for those who want to get involved in this style seriously.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Six Days Photographing the Wonder of Iceland – exploring the landscapes and features of Iceland is something that many of us would love to do personally, yet there are a series of hurdles to overcome for most of us to realize this. This article shares an awesome set of photographs and a breathtaking video presentation that takes you on a whirlwind tour of this place that includes some very dramatic drone footage.
‘Voices of Jerusalem' Is a Stunning Video Tour of the City – check out this incredible video feature that is just over 2 minutes in length, taking you through an incredible visual tour of this ancient city by showcasing many of its interesting facets. The combination of drone based video, along with terrestrial shots, combine to create a fast-paced and alluring view of a city with an endless history.
40 of the Best Street Photos of 2016 by Photographers Around the World – the pure candid nature of street photography lends itself to terrific artistic tension where the viewer is drawn into the shot and finds themselves with a series of unanswered questions. This collection of photographs from this genre is some of the best I’ve seen recently, and those who appreciate this type of imagery will find themselves immersed.
Behind the Scenes with Large Format Portraiture – we’ve all wondered about what’s involved with shooting large format as the results are astonishing with an incredible resolution. This behind-the-scenes video takes us through a day of shooting on this medium with some great sample portraits to show the results, and the guys then sit and chat about their experiences with this setup and the various pros-and-cons.
GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY
Vietnam Sunset – this ethereal piece comes to us from Jason Row who captured a breathtaking sunset shot featuring a boat near the foreground as a soft pastel color emanates from the setting sun in the background. The terrific mood of this shot is full of rich artistic tension, leaving the viewer with many questions that help you to linger in the frame.
In the course of a day – photography is a powerful medium, often sharing a profound story in the context of a single still frame. Joseph de Lange, a local photographer and friend of ours here in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, recently found a poignant gravesite of a young boy who died during the colonization of the valley rather suddenly, and Joseph’s great shot is accompanied here by the story behind the photo.
Journey To The Unknown – Dany Eid captures an early morning shot of the city of Dubai from a highly elevated perspective, overlooking the peaks of the skyscrapers below as a thick fog encircles the city. The feel of this incredible photograph takes on a highly post-apocalyptic mood with the muted natural light and only the tops of the buildings being visible.
Paper Trail – many urbex themed shots I have seen over the years leave the viewer with a profound sense of wonder in terms of the story behind the particular scene and how it got to this state. This shot from Michael Criswell takes us inside an abandoned school looking down a hallway that is full of great textures from natural weathering. The real mystery in this shot, however, is the paper trail that leads down the hallway leaving us all to wonder why.
Buenas noches – the low angle of perspective used to photograph this piece by Anthony Sotomayor helps in several aspects of the composition as old cars move through the scene with a backdrop of great architecture. In the foreground we find a still pool of water that creates a terrific reflection of the scene, finishing off the picture perfectly.
Smiley Barn Family – Oakesdale, Washington – the bucolic nature of rural scenes with old and weathered barns is something that is simply irresistible to many photography enthusiasts. Len Saltiel takes us deep into the Palouse region of Washington with this shot where he showcases 3 weathered barns clustered together in a farm setting.
I love Bled – the square format used for this composition does a terrific job of framing the ancient monastery that sits on a tiny island in the center of Lake Bled, in Slovenia. Gürkan Gündoğdu’s shot also features a perfect silky reflection in the lake’s waters, adding a mirror-like element to this mesmerizing shot.
Standing Bear – once again we find that bears doing their thing in their natural habitat can make for terrific photography subjects, often taking on candid poses and activities that make for a great shot. In this shot Ron Niebrugge finds a large brown bear standing on it’s hind legs in a meadow in Alaska, and Ron captures a great portrait of this amazing animal.
Tourist View – a tiny European hamlet sits on the sides of a mountain face overlooking still waters in this stunning shot by Juan Pablo de Miguel captured in the heart of the blue hour. The long exposure used to capture this shot turns the waters into a silky reflection of the majestic scene, capped off perfectly by the rugged mountains that linger in the far backdrop.
A castle in its setting – one of the things many of us expect to see in Ireland beyond the beautiful rolling green landscape is some of the ancient castles that sit in this beautiful setting. Frank King shares a shot of one such castle sitting on a 260 acre plot, framed perfectly by trees that add great context to this amazing structure.
Basilica Di Santa Maria Della Salute – absolutely astonishing details come to life in this delightful shot featuring this well-known architectural wonder in the heart of Venice. Serge Ramelli brings out the details in this building by creating a stitched vertorama of several frames captured during a time when there are no people in the scene.
Power – Mike Olbinski shares a new shot from his well-known repertoire of storm themed images, this one focusing on a powerful storm that is pounding the ground below with dramatic lightning bolts. Swirling clouds overhead add to the sense of the dynamic and they add to overall sense of drama found in this amazing scene.
Vestrahorn – Etienne Ruff delivers a very striking landscape photograph with this piece that features several key elements to a great composition. Natural leading lines combine with a mirror reflection in a pool of water under a dynamic sky captured using a long exposure, creating something that is captivating in a naturally abstract way.
Darkness… – a dark and long forgotten room is explored in this textured and detailed shot captured by Urban Exploring in an abandoned plastic factory. The dark shadows of the room create nooks and crannies of artistic tension, and the old and weathered windows that let in a little ambient light finish off the composition just perfectly.
Train Station Lyon “Saint-Exupéry TGV”_1 – converging lines and amazing geometries converge in this abstract architectural study that showcases a dramatic roofline of a train station in France. Herbert A. Franke uses the architectural features to their full advantage, delivering a shot that draws the viewer into the amazing image that is sure to mesmerize everyone who sees it.
Container Gardening – my wife and I have talked often about the idea of getting the hull of an old Ford Model-A or somesuch antique car and depositing it in our backyard as a garden ornament of sorts. Lisa Gordon shares a pair of great shots that show this concept, one being of an old vehicle that is a planter, and the other shot of an old boot.
Dancing at sunrise – an amazing bird walks it’s way across a shallow pool of water with it’s wings completely outstretched as the warm colors from the early morning sunrise bathe the scene in incredible hues. Nature images captured and processed this shot just perfectly, creating something that is not to be missed in this week's list for nature photography enthusiasts.
African Lioness – Wayne Beauregard visits the zoo and captures a wonderful portrait of a mature female lioness sitting and observing the world pass her by. The terrific details of this amazing cat come to life in Wayne’s composition, revealing the inherent beauty and power of these amazing creatures.
Serpents – Martin Podt captures a great shot captured in a forested grove under the cloak of a thick fog, featuring a pathway that creates a natural leading line that leads out towards a terrific vanishing point. The trees stand sentry in this shot, creating haunting figures in the mist that take on a life of their own.
2 Comments
Thank you so very much!!
You bet Lisa, thanks for visiting and commenting here!!